Kentucky Democratic Primary Results: Hillary Clinton Claims Victory

As of midnight, the Kentucky Democratic primary's official designation is "too close to call," but frontrunner Hillary Clinton declared victory there Tuesday as Bernie Sanders took both Clinton and the Democratic Party to task.

Nearly five hours after polls closed, Clinton narrowly leads, but the race remains "too close to call" despite nearly all votes counted, according to the Associated Press.

Sanders had been hoping to pull off a win there Tuesday, but instead effectively secured a draw. The state's proportionately allocated 55 delegates are expected to split relatively evenly between the two candidates as a result.

• Oregon Primary: Full Results, Live Coverage for Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump Win

Even with a Sanders win in Oregon that same night, the two-dozen Kentucky delegates do little to dent Clinton's daunting lead. Although he again pledged to remain in the race "to the last ballot," Sanders' path to the nomination is even more certainly a mathematical near-impossibility.

But break that news to Sanders supporters in California Tuesday, and you'd likely get drowned out by screams of "Bernie or bust!"

"There's a lot of people out there, many of them pundits and politicians, they say, 'Bernie Sanders should drop out,'" Sanders said, to deafening boos from supporters. "This is, in a sense, the beginning of the final push to win California."

Democrats Divided

At times, it's felt as if pundits were actively rooting for a contested Republican convention. Tuesday night that narrative of party dysfunction turned Democrats' way. The nail-biting back-and-forth at Kentucky polls Tuesday only seemed to confirm political observers' suspicions that Democrats are in dire need of unity.

The Democratic National Committee chairwoman chastised Sanders Tuesday, after the Vermont senator's unrepentant reaction to reported property damage, threats and even violence by supporters during this weekend's Nevada caucuses.

Sanders said his campaign neither encourages nor condones violent behavior, and his campaign manager made clear they expected none at Democrats' summer nominating convention in Philadelphia.

In his speech Tuesday, Sanders reiterated comments from his earlier back-and-forth with party leadership (below). Democrats can either maintain their closed-door status quo and let Trump "capture the votes of working class Americans," or embrace new voters "prepared to fight for real economic and social change," he said.

"Open the doors," he said to cheers and chants, "and let the people in!"

Republicans United Somewhat Less Divided

Underscoring tensions on the left is the accord struck Tuesday evening between Trump and the national Republican Party's chief fundraising organ. The presumptive nominee and Republican National Committee signed a joint fundraising agreement that will allow Trump to raise campaign funds from individual donations as high as $449,000, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Trump himself has been sowing the seeds of discord on the left for some time, needling Sanders to consider a third party run and claiming for the umpteenth time in a tweet Tuesday evening, "Democrat Primaries are rigged."

The New York real estate developer and reality TV star reveled in a different spotlight Tuesday, as well, live-tweeting a much anticipated, "peace-making" interview with Megyn Kelly, of Fox News.

Meanwhile, party leaders remain decidedly undecided on Trump. Most would-be 2016 nominees have offered tepid promises of support at best, influential House Speaker Paul Ryan is playing the "wait-and-see" card and every living former candidate has declined to endorse their party's presumptive nominee.

Kentucky Democratic Primary: Live Results

Update: 11:35 p.m. ET

Beyond a passing mention of his distaste for closed primaries like Kentucky's, Bernie Sanders barreled into his standard stump speech Tuesday evening at California State University's StubHub Center in Dominguez Hills.

"I think we have a real shot to win primaries in a number of states," he told screaming supporters there. “This is, in a sense, the beginning of the final push to win California."

Sanders touted the power of the youth vote behind his campaign and its grassroots power as he pointed to polls that show him beating presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in a hypothetical head-to-head.

Update: 10:45 p.m. ET

Clinton declares victory in Kentucky on Twitter, while multiple outlets call the state an "apparent win" for Democrats' frontrunner and the AP maintains its "too close to call" determination.

Update: 9:25 p.m. ET

With 99 percent of the state reporting, Hillary Clinton leads by roughly 2,000 votes, according to multiple outlets, including the Associated Press.

Update: 9:15 p.m. ET

Returns from the New York Times put the race at 46.6 percent for Bernie Sanders and 46.3 percent for Hillary Clinton, virtually deadlocked despite 95 percent of precincts reporting -- a difference of about 1,000 votes.

Update: 8:30 p.m. ET

With 84 percent of state returns in, Hillary Clinton is on the verge of locking up a Kentucky win. She has 47.3 percent of state support to Bernie Sanders' 46.2 percent support, according to the latest numbers from the Associated Press. The vote count in Lexington appears to have put her over the top.

Update: 8:15 p.m. ET

The Kentucky race is still too close to call, more than an hour after polls closed.

Meanwhile, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's much-anticipated interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly is apparently captivating most of the media's attention.

Update: 8 p.m. ET

Hillary Clinton has snagged a slim lead in Kentucky, according to numbers from Decision Desk HQ. With just over 60 percent of the state reporting, Clinton has 47.3 percent of the vote to Bernie Sanders' 46.8 percent.

Update: 7:45 p.m. ET

Bernie Sanders retains a razor-thin lead in Kentucky, holding 48.6 percent of the vote with just over half the state reporting, according to numbers from the New York Times.

Update: 7:30 p.m. ET

Kentucky's Democratic primary remains tight, and the segment of the state to watch is to the east, where the coal industry is concentrated. As discussed below, that voting block could undermine Clinton's chances in Kentucky, much like West Virginia last week.

With over a third of the state reporting, Sanders holds onto a single-point lead, with 47.2 percent of the vote totals compared to Clinton's 46.1 percent, according to the New York Times.

Update: 7:15 p.m. ET

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, former contender for Republicans' presidential nomination, won his party's Senate primary Tuesday, putting him en route to a second term.

Update: 7 p.m. ET

All Kentucky polls are now closed. With nine percent of the state reporting, Bernie Sanders enjoys a slim lead so far, with 47.3 percent to Hillary Clinton's 45.5 percent.

Update: 6:30 p.m. ET

After the first wave of polls closed Tuesday, very early estimates put Hillary Clinton ahead in Kentucky. Decision Desk HQ, which has been tracking primaries precinct-by-precinct throughout the primary season, reported Clinton had more than 56 percent support, with just over two percent of votes counted.

Update: 6 p.m. ET

Polls are closed in Eastern Time precincts, with an hour to go for Central Time polls in Kentucky.

As Sanders was held to account for supporters' action in Nevada primary caucuses Tuesday, Hillary Clinton had eyes on a general election battle with presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

News around her campaign Tuesday concerned the first ad from Super PAC (Political Action Committee) Priorities USA Action, which attacked Trump's comments on women. Trump for his part, said one of the ad's statements was taken out of context.

Meanwhile, he had predictions of his own and, of course, an insult, regarding Tuesday's Democratic primaries:

Update: 4:30 p.m. ET

Bernie Sanders released a statement defying the Democratic Party mainstream Tuesday, a response to tumultuous Nevada caucuses over the weekend, where his supporters reportedly caused property damage and harassed the state party chair, alleging anti-Sanders bias.

Rather than apologizing Tuesday, Sanders indicted the party.

His statement Tuesday read in part:

"It is imperative that the Democratic leadership, both nationally and in the states, understand that the political world is changing and that millions of Americans are outraged at establishment politics and establishment economics."

"The Democratic Party has a choice. It can open its doors and welcome into the party the people who are prepared to fight for real economic change and social change... or the party can choose to maintain its current status quo structure."

The campaign "of course believes in non-violent change and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individual," Sanders said in the statement.

Update: 3:15 p.m. ET

As voters descend on the polls in Kentucky Tuesday, Bernie Sanders has a rally planned in California, looking ahead to a Democratic showdown there that currently heavily favors frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

Clinton, meanwhile, has no public events scheduled Tuesday. Former president Bill Clinton is making three stops across Puerto Rico, campaigning on his wife's behalf.

Update: 7 a.m. ET

Polls are now open statewide. Kentucky is split between Central and Eastern time zones, and polls will close at 6 p.m. local time. You can find your polling place here.

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Pre-Election Analysis

Donald Gross, professor and chair of Kentucky University's Department of Political Science, believes the state favors Clinton, but sees areas where Sanders could gain an edge.

"It's going to be sort of interesting," Gross said by phone. "By traditional standards, Hillary and Bill Clinton have always done really well in Kentucky."

A big advantage for Clinton is the closed Kentucky primary, a scenario that has so far boosted the establishment candidate's chances by depressing pro-Sanders independents.

That said, Clinton is on the wrong side of several highly charged issues in Kentucky.

Anti-establishment hostility is high there, Gross said -- perhaps higher than many other states, given Kentucky's backlash against the Obama administration egged on by a Republican majority led by Senate leader Mitch McConnell.

On guns, Sanders' comparably more lenient stance could be a boon in Kentucky, despite previously becoming a chink for Clinton to exploit in Sanders' otherwise iron-clad liberal record.

Additionally, Kentucky is coal country. For Clinton, that means unfriendly territory after an Ohio speech about renewable energy that included an unfortunate soundbite: "We're going to put a lot of coal companies and coal miners out of business."

Despite a retroactive attempt to contextualize those statements, Clinton earned only 36 percent of the vote in the nearby West Virginia primary last week.

Although Sanders' energy policy is barely discernible from Clinton's, the blow-back could still benefit him.

"That could end up really hurting her," Gross said. "I think Bernie Sanders' real hope is that he can energize people over those sentiments toward the coal industry."

Kentucky earlier this year voted for Donald Trump in its Republican primary, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz coming in second.

>> Photo credit Gage Skidmore, Flickr/Creative Commons